


I will not tire of you

by bitheflowers



Series: Berena appreciation week 2018 [4]
Category: Holby City
Genre: AU, Elinor still died woops sorry everyone, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 08:58:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15703983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitheflowers/pseuds/bitheflowers
Summary: Serena moved to France following Elinor's death but she doesn't know Bernie yet. She spends her days in the Provence, picking grapes and enjoying the sun when one day she meets a beautiful blonde hitchhiker on the side of the road.





	I will not tire of you

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of a longer fic today, the same song inspired the title of course. I actually might wanna continue this storyline because I grew quite fond of this plot tbh. Definitely let me know if that would be something you'd be interested in! Enjoy the fic!
> 
> Prompt is 'AU'

The radio is playing some French ballad as Serena speeds down the winding, dusty roads back to her cottage. Her trip to the market in the next village had been successful, the boot of her car filled with a crate of fresh tomatoes, bell peppers and aubergines. She had gotten all the ingredients for a ratatouille, even found a very promising wine in a quaint shop on the outskirts of the town. It was going to be a good evening.

She nearly misses the figure standing at the side of the road, nearly speeds past her without a second thought. Yet the golden halo of curls of a woman holding out her hand in an attempt to stop a car, somehow catches her eye. She slams the breaks a bit too hard, turning on her indicator and pulling up next to the stranger. She’s never stopped for a hitchhiker before, although they aren’t a rare occurrence here during the summer months. Most of the time they were youngsters, people who looked a bit ragged and untrustworthy, whom Serena would never pick up despite her kind hearted nature. 

This woman is… different though. Her hair is a mess of blonde curls, much like a bird’s nest really. She looks closer to Serena’s own age, definitely a woman over 40, approaching 50 maybe. The woman has an air of nonchalance about her. And legs for days, Serena notices smugly, clad in the most sinfully tight jeans Serena has ever seen. There is no harm in asking what she wants, Serena figures and so she stops next to the stranger and opens the window on the passenger’s side. 

“Bonjour, est-ce que je peux vous aidez ? » she quips in her best French accent and for some reason the other woman frowns at her. The look on her face is one of confusion and pure concentration as she speaks.

“Excusez-moi, oui uhm, est-ce que vous uhm, pouvez, no damn it… » The woman stumbles over her words, revealing a thick British accent that makes Serena smile. 

“Fellow Brit?” she asks with a smirk, her eyes lighting up as she takes pity on the poor woman and her attempt at speaking French. The blonde nods and sighs in relief before stretching her arm out through the open car window to shake Serena’s hand.

“Bernie Wolfe, nice to meet you.” Her skin feels a little rough against Serena’s palm. 

“Serena Campbell. Never thought I’d meet an English woman in rural Provence, who’d have thought it. Where are you going?” Her voice is soft like velvet and so soothing it takes Bernie a second to respond. 

“Any sort of bed & breakfast or hotel will do really.” She doesn’t meet Serena’s eyes, instead looking sideways to the road ahead, waiting for a reply, expecting a refusal from the woman. 

“Are you a serial killer?” The words are blunt and direct and they take Bernie by surprise. She looks back at the brunette in the car to see the unmistakable, teasing glint in her dark eyes. She likes her sense of humour. 

“Know about thirteen ways to kill someone with my bare hands but I’m not too keen on using any of them. I’d say it’s worth a shot.” The corners of her thin mouth curl upwards into a smirk, her lips in a confident pout that sets Serena at ease. Surely she must be mad to even consider inviting a stranger into her car like this and yet something about the woman makes her want to do just that. 

“Do you fancy a cup of tea? I have no clue where the nearest hotel is but I can help you look for one if you want?” She reaches across the passenger’s seat to open the door for the blonde. “I’ll take the risk,” she adds with a wink once the woman has put her duffel bag on the backseat of the car and settles down next to Serena. 

She puts the car back into gear to resume the journey down the road. “So what brings you here? Not exactly the most tourist friendly town you picked, I have to say.” Her tone is light, not accusing or reprimanding. 

“I’m travelling. Well I, I’ve been travelling for a while, got off the train a few miles back and decided to start walking to look for a place to stay the night. Fair to say that didn’t go to plan.” Serena can’t help but notice the way Bernie twists and wrings her hands together in her lap nervously. 

“I see, well I might be a bit forward here but you’re welcome to come back to mine for cuppa so we can look for a hotel for you.” She turns to give the woman next to her a reassuring smile and gets the same look in return. Shaking her head slightly, she turns her focus back on the road in front of her, not wanting to get too caught up in the enchanting brown eyes and the shy smirk of the blonde.

They make it to Serena’s cottage after a while, Bernie’s eyes going wide as she takes in the acres of vineyards surrounding the house. Serena can practically see her awe and hear the clogs in her mind turning. She laughs as she unbuckles her seatbelt and offers an explanation.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t own the land. Just renting the cottage and helping out with the grape picking I’m afraid.” She’s out of the car before Bernie can respond, leaving the woman to scramble out of the car after her. Bernie gets her duffel bag from the backseat while Serena goes to unlock the door to the cottage, leaving it open as she goes back to get the produce from the car. 

“Do you need a hand?” Bernie offers shyly, her hands already reaching out to take a crate from Serena. Their fingers touch for a moment when Serena hands over the vegetables, their eyes meeting and lingering just a tad too long. She turns away quickly, taking the rest of her purchases from the boot before leading the way inside the house. 

Bernie stands somewhat awkwardly in the kitchen while Serena goes about putting away everything she bought and turning the kettle on for tea. She is unsure what to do so she just watches the brunette making her way around the room effortlessly. The woman is beautiful, her treacherous mind tells her, all soft curves and beautiful greying brown hair and warm eyes. Bernie pushes the thought down immediately, repressing it frantically. 

They end up sitting down at the kitchen table, both wrapping their hands around their hot mugs even though it’s still fairly warm outside. They sit in silence for a bit, both not really knowing how to proceed from here on. Serena realises she didn’t really think about what she would do with this stranger in her house, her instinct to invite her in stronger than her sense of reason apparently. She figures she should get her laptop to google some places to stay for the other woman. 

Bernie’s soft voice shakes her out of her thoughts. “Have you lived here long?” She asks tentatively. 

“Nearly a year. I moved here when… well I moved,” she swallows heavily, it’s still so hard to say this out loud. “My daughter died.” The words come out very matter-of-factly and she can tell it shocks the blonde. Bernie’s eyes are so kind though, so understanding that Serena decides she might as well open up about it. It’s not like she’ll ever see this woman again and for some reason she makes Serena feel comfortable. 

“She passed away and I, well I couldn’t stay in England. I wanted to leave, you know? Get away from it all. So I came here, decided to heal in the south of France, surrounded by nothing but nature and silence and friendly faces. It’s helped, I suppose. Now I don’t really wanna leave.” She chuckles at the last bit, her nose crinkling slightly. Bernie merely nods, her hands twitching to reach out and pat Serena’s hand in support but she resists that urge. 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she whispers instead before taking a sip of her tea. Serena gives her a little nod and then straightens again, steering the conversation away from her own experience.

“What about you? What brings you to the middle of nowhere, Bernie?” Serena forget all about having to get her laptop out as Bernie tells her about her journey, little by little revealing more about what led her to the Provence.

Bernie feels at ease here in Serena’s kitchen and for the first time she doesn’t think twice about talking about her life. She tells Serena about her career in the army, -they’re both surgeons, what a happy coincidence-, how she fell in love with a woman and told her husband of 25 years about it. She tells her about the messy divorce, the pain of her children picking their dad’s side because their lesbian mother had betrayed them. And finally she tells her how she had decided to go travelling, escape it all to ‘find herself’ by backpacking through Europe. She still feels a bit self-conscious about it, running away from her problems to see the world at 53 but Serena just smiles warmly and reaches out to brush a hand over Bernie’s arm. 

It feels like minutes have passed but a look at the clock on the oven tells Serena they’ve been talking for hours. She takes their now empty mugs over to the sink and Bernie thinks she hears her mutter something along the lines of “You’re a brave one, aren’t you?” under her breath. Serena turns back to look at her, leaning back against the countertop. She seems lost in thought as she stares at Bernie and it makes Bernie nervous, feeling scrutinised under the other woman’s gaze. 

The blonde clears her throat, tries to avoid whatever this moment between them is. She wipes her hands on her thighs and stands up. “I uhm I should probably get going, find a hotel to stay at. It’s getting quite late. But I am so grateful for the tea and the chat and your help, Serena, really I-“ 

“Stay.” Serena’s voice is a little high pitched and they both look at each other in surprise at that one small word. Her eyes go wide as Serena realises what she said and she turns away from Bernie, resting her hands on the counter and silently chastising herself. Great job Campbell, scare the poor woman away why don’t you.

She laughs it off, still looking straight ahead at the window in front of her. It’s getting dark outside, Bernie is probably right, it would be hard enough to find some accommodation here at this time of day. 

“I’m sorry,” Serena stutters, feeling uneasy about her own outburst and Bernie’s following silence. In the window she can see the reflection of Bernie, standing awkwardly behind the chair she was just sitting on before she starts walking across the kitchen. She sees the other woman approach her hesitantly and Serena freezes, her whole body suddenly warm and flushed. 

“What, uhm, what do you mean, stay?” Bernie speaks so gently, so shyly it makes Serena’s heart ache. She only met this woman today but yet somehow it feels like they’ve known each other forever. Not to mention, Bernie might be the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen. No Campbell, don’t go down that route. But it’s too late, her head already spinning when she feels Bernie put a hand on her shoulder.

“I just said it, I- I wasn’t really thinking, I-“ She turns around and Bernie is right there, right in front of her and it makes her gasp. The blonde woman is so gorgeous and so close by and her eyes flicker to Serena’s lips and Serena can’t hold back anymore. She leans forward, looking into the other woman’s dark eyes before closing her eyes as their lips touch. 

It’s too fast and it’s totally crazy and unexpected but she can’t stop herself, her hands reaching out to grab Bernie’s hips and pull her closer. Bernie is kissing her back, pushing her into the countertop. The kiss ends as soon as it started, both of them pulling back abruptly. 

“Serena, I’m sorry, I-“ Bernie’s breath is ragged and her eyes look a little glossy. 

“Right, uhm, yes sorry-“ They stay close to each other though, their bodies still pressed together. Serena lets out a laugh then, the absurdity of this getting to her. Her own reaction teases a chuckle out of Bernie too which soon turns into a honking sound that Serena finds both intriguing and mind blowing. How does she even make that sound? 

They calm down eventually, Bernie taking a step back to give Serena some space. She reaches out to grab the brunette’s hands, linking their fingers together and looking up at her through her unruly fringe. She knows she should probably leave, stop this right here but something about Serena makes her unable to do that. Meanwhile all Serena can think about is kissing the other woman again, however dumb that idea might be. 

She’s had one night stands before, she reasons, this could be one of those. A one night stand with a very attractive stranger, nothing more, nothing less. They have been talking for so long, by now she knows Bernie better than she knows most people she sees in town every day. So why not go for it, give into this overwhelming attraction and see where it goes? As if Bernie can read her mind, she steps into her personal space again, her hand coming up to cup Serena’s cheek.

“Look I- I don’t normally do… this,” she laughs nervously, taking her time to figure out how to address the situation. “I would understand if you want me to go now but I mean, God I really wanna kiss you again.” She sounds breathless and Serena lunges forward to press their lips together again, pulling Bernie as close as possible and deepening the kiss.

“Don’t go,” Serena mumbles between kisses and she feels Bernie nod her head slightly. She has no idea what this is between them, only knows that this glorious woman makes her skin tingle and her heart flutter and that she wants more, so much more of her. So she takes a risk, encourages Bernie to touch her and touches the other woman in return. Even if this is merely a one night stand, she figures, she will take it and revel in it because she can’t recall the last time she felt this alive.


End file.
